Class Preparation Checklist

 

 Workshop 14 – Curriculum Integration

Required:

 “The Learning Power of WebQuests” by Tom March, Educational Leadership, December 2003

 

  WebQuest Analysis Form

 

 “Educators use primary resources to challenge student thinking” handout.

Optional:

 None

Overview

Curriculum Integration

Participants will review and discover the value of WebQuest, in addition to analyzing and creating their own WebQuest activity.

Objectives

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to—

·        Define and discuss the learning power of using WebQuests in the classroom.

·        Analyze an existing WebQuest.

·        Create a WebQuest for a specific topic or subject.

·        Determine additional methods of integrating primary sources into curriculum.

 

 

Lesson 1 • Introduction to WebQuest

In Lesson One, participants will review “The Learning Power of WebQuests” by Tom March. An existing WebQuest will also be introduced and analyzed by the participants.

Activity 1-1 • What are WebQuests?

Objective:   Participants will –

·         Define and discuss the learning power of using WebQuests in the classroom.

 

1.      Take five minutes to review the article “The Learning Power of WebQuests” by Tom March. Please use the below links to locate the article.

 

Web Version

 

§   http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/WebQuests/Ed'l%20Leadership%20Webquests.pdf

 

 

2.      Go to San Diego State University’s WebQuest site at: http://webquest.sdsu.edu.

3.      Go to the Big Wide World WebQuests site at:

http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/bww/. These sites will assist you in gaining more knowledge about WebQuests.

 

Assignment:

 

Please answer the following questions:

• What does not qualify as a WebQuest?
• Have you thought of any ideas for developing a WebQuest after reading the article?
• How else can you apply the “open-ended” question concept in activities? The “open-ended” question concept is defined in the article.
• Is this inquiry-oriented activity one that you will utilize in the classroom?
• Can WebQuests be given as homework activities?

 

Lesson 2 • Creating WebQuests

Lesson Two provides participants the tools and knowledge necessary to create WebQuests that can be used by students.

Activity 2-1 • The WebQuest Strategy

Objective:  Participants will –

·         Create a WebQuest for a specific topic or subject.

·         Determine additional methods of integrating primary sources into curriculum.

 

Bernie Dodge, creator of the WebQuest activity design, defines a WebQuest as “an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet.”

 

A WebQuest is broken into six sections that guide students through analyzing information and drawing conclusions. The sections are:

 

Introduction	kicks off the lesson and provides background information.
Task	describes what the students will be doing and learning.
Resources	lists website addresses, books, etc. needed for completing the activity.
Process	outlines how the students are to proceed through the activity from beginning to end.
Evaluation	describes how students will be assessed at the end of the activity
Conclusion	brings closure through statements and/or questions that summarize the information gained from the activity and perhaps stimulates the students to continue an interest in the subject.

 

What sets WebQuests apart is that students are given open-ended questions that stimulate thought and require analysis, critical thinking, conclusions, and do not necessarily have one right answer. Students draw from their own backgrounds and experiences to make meaning
NOTES:

out of the information; thus, making connections between the real world and the classroom.

 

The thinking skills that WebQuest-style activities require include (Marzano, 1992):

 

Comparing      -     Identifying and articulating similarities and differences between things.                

Classifying      -     Grouping things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes.                 

Inducing          -     Inferring unknown generalizations or principles from observations or analysis.      

Deducing         -     Inferring unstated consequences and conditions from given principles and generalizations.                               

Analyzing 

Errors             -     Identifying and articulating errors in one's own or others' thinking.                       

Constructing 

Support           -     Constructing a system of support or proof for an assertion.                              

Abstraction     -     Identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern of information.       

Analyzing 

Perspectives   -     Identifying and articulating personal perspectives about issues.                     

 

Information for this section on WebQuests was taken from Some Thoughts About WebQuests by Bernie Dodge. San Diego State University Web Quest

Assignment:

 

1.        Go to San Diego State University’s WebQuest site at:

        http://webquest.sdsu.edu.

2.        Click on the Portal section. Then on the left side of the screen,

        select the “Finding WebQuests” link.

3.        Locate the “Curriculum x Grade Level Matrix” search engine. Use

this search engine to select and review a WebQuest within the subject area and grade level that you will someday teach.

4.        Describe the WebQuest that you reviewed. What is the subject

area, the grade level, and the purpose of the WebQuest? 

5.     Do you believe that this was a well thought-out WebQuest where students could actually learn that subject presented? Why or why not?